The Summer of Our Discontent (11 page)

Rachel grinned. “Did you get your certification?”

“Yeah, but the search and rescue team never came to fruition, not enough in the budget.” Faith shrugged. “I was kind of relieved in a way, it’s rarely ever rescue just search. I’ve heard some horror stories. Anyway, do you want to know what I found in my mask when I got it back on?”

“Oh, my God, please don’t tell me.” Rachel shivered then. “I just know it’s gonna be pepperoni.”

“No, better. The place Alvin went drinking put little medallions on the sides of the glasses about the size of a quarter. Apparently, Alvin was so smashed he swallowed one and didn’t realize it. I found a treasure on my first dive, a plastic doubloon, circa two thousand four in my mask.”

“I guess glue paled by comparison.”

“Okay,” Faith waved a hand, “regale me with a funny police story.”

“You know most of them. We live in the same town.” Rachel thought for a moment. “My sarcasm sometimes gets me into trouble. I was working dispatch when I first joined the police department because as you know my dad thought of it as a good
ol
’ boys club, and he didn’t want women in the field. One of the guys had pulled over a speeder, and he thought someone had thrown something out of the car. He called for backup so he could do a search, but old Brandt Kessler was working that night, and he couldn’t find his way out of a wet paper bag when it came to the back roads. He kept asking the dispatcher for landmarks, and we were giving everything we could. Finally, I said, ‘Look for the car with the blue flashing lights,’ and Kelly Martin repeated what I said over the radio without thinking. The ‘oh, crap’ look on her face was priceless when she realized what she’d done. Of course, Dad was listening. He called in and chewed us both out, and we were laughing so hard it made him even more furious.”

Faith grinned. “Yes, as I recall, you graduated with honors in smart mouth.”

“You were right there with me. Don’t play innocent.”

“I was really surprised when you went out on the street as an officer,” Faith said, looking at the fire. “Your dad really didn’t want women in his department unless they were behind a desk.”

“I didn’t go out on his watch, that’s for sure. When he retired and Chief Prejean came in, I did some serious begging and ass kissing. If it hadn’t been for Mom refusing to cook and do other things, Dad wouldn’t have let me go through the academy. His saddest day was when my brothers told him they didn’t want to be cops and I told him I did.” Rachel pursed her lips. “We still don’t talk much. He started in on Kaycee early, telling her that a woman’s place is in the home. If my daughter chooses to marry a man, bear his children, and dote on him all her life, that will be her choice, but not because she believes that’s all she’s worthy of.”

“Amen to that. Sophie says she wants to be a veterinarian. That thrills Patty because she doesn’t want her becoming a firefighter.” Faith glanced over at Lisa Barlow and noticed that she was staring at them. “So tell me what you did to Lisa to make her jump back over the fence.”

“And on that note, good night.” Rachel got up and walked over to where the girls were roasting marshmallows.

Faith was surprised by the sudden departure. She’d obviously struck a tender nerve. She glanced over at Lisa, who had an eye on Rachel. Faith had already noticed that Lisa watched her closely, but when Rachel came anywhere near her, Lisa went the other way. And Lisa had chosen the cabin on the farthest end of the row. The relationship between Rachel and Lisa wasn’t common knowledge in Michaud. Faith had found out through a friend who knew one of Rachel’s friends from college. The affair was a secret and meant to be that way, but when more than two people were involved, secrets weren’t always kept.

*******

After her shower, Rachel tucked in Kaycee and Sophie, then retired to her cabin. She couldn’t be sure that Faith was in hers; there was no light indicating she was. She quickly brushed her teeth in the dark and climbed into bed in hopes that Faith wouldn’t notice her. She’d no doubt ask about Lisa again, and that was one subject Rachel didn’t want to expound on. What had happened between them seemed like a distant memory, and Rachel barely noticed her anymore. They spoke only when they had to, and that was the way she liked it.

Faith’s whisper came out of the darkness. “I’m sorry if I offended you tonight.”

Rachel didn’t answer, hoping that Faith would assume she was asleep, despite the fact that she’d just crawled into bed.

“Of course, that’s a new one on me because normally I like to offend you, and I didn’t used to be sorry. It’s gonna take me a while to get used to this truce thing. Tonight, I almost put a burned marshmallow in your hair before I caught myself.”

Rachel grinned and threw an arm over her eyes.

“Yeah,” Faith whispered with a sigh. “I’ve been tamed, must be the moonlight or overexposure to
Deet
.”

Rachel dropped her arm on the bed. “Shut up and go to sleep.”

Faith was quiet for a few minutes, then asked, “Did you check your bed for roaches?”

Rachel’s eyes flew open wide as she felt around and sighed with relief. “Shut. Up.”

“Okay. Good night, Rachel, I hate you.”

“Hate you, too, good night.”

Chapter Fifteen

The climbing wall that had looked so impressive in the brochures would’ve taken Faith three good steps, and she would’ve been over the top in seconds. The kids, however, scrambled all over it like little monkeys while she stood by and watched to make sure no one got hurt. She considered herself better off than Rachel, who held one end of a jump rope while a group of giggling girls took turns jumping and singing songs that grated the nerves.

Off to the side of the climbing wall sat two little girls, one just as plump as Faith had been at that age, the other thin as a reed. Faith could tell that the waif wanted to climb, but the chunky one resisted. The wall proved too much of a temptation, and the smaller of the two ran over and joined the others. Faith walked over and sat in the dirt next to the girl.

“My name’s Faith, what’s yours?”

“June,” she said as she watched the others play with longing in her eyes.

“Are you afraid of heights? Because that rock wall isn’t that tall and there’s plenty of pads on the ground around it.”

“I’m not good at it.”

Faith wondered if June was intimidated by the climb or more afraid of the other girls watching her try to do it. Faith had shied away from anything that would make her a target for ridicule when she was young. She’d jumped rope with her friends once at school before others started calling her Jell-O. Like a flock of birds, the girls who’d been on the wall ran to the swings and the obstacle course beyond. June made no attempt to move.

“I’m gonna go over and climb on that wall now since everybody left.” Faith got up and scrambled onto it like a cat. “This is fun,” she called out to June.

It took a few minutes, but June followed suit and soon was chasing Faith all over the wall. For her size, she was surprisingly agile. Faith ran her all over the wall until they were both sweating.

Rachel watched them and felt like she was seeing two versions of Faith. She’d noticed the girl sitting alone and Faith when she walked over to her. Had Faith not taken the time, the girl may’ve still been sitting alone watching other children play. Sometimes, children just needed a little extra attention to feel comfortable. That Faith had recognized that and done something about it made Rachel take notice.

In truth, as much as Rachel had held on to old resentments, she begrudgingly respected Faith more than she was willing to admit aloud. What Faith had done to regain control over her body had not gone unnoticed by Rachel. She’d seen Faith running or trying to on the track after school when no one else was out there. There was no trainer urging, no friends cheering her on, it was sheer will day after day on Faith’s part.

With modest admiration mentally noted, Rachel viewed this new peace between her and Faith with cautious optimism. Faith admitted to being as bored with the negative tension as she was, but Rachel didn’t quite trust Faith not to suddenly become a tool again. She’d spent time pondering the warped bond they’d had in their formative years and all the reasons why. They handled things in similar fashion when it came to being a shit, but Rachel wondered if they’d behave as similar in peace.

Ashlyn
jogged over to where Rachel was still standing with the jump rope with no one to hop over it. They’d all lost interest and moved on as she stood there lost in thought. “Hey, my group is going to play softball against Courtney’s girls, and since you and Ms. Faith are good at softball, we were wondering if you’d manage the game.”

Rachel grinned. “I’d love to.”

*******

“How’re you gonna hit the ball with your finger in your nose, Lacy? Don’t you remember what your brother told you?” Faith held the bat away from the girl. “Need some antiseptic hand wash over here—stat.”

One of the chaperones, Annette Whitehead, came out of the dugout and held the bottle out to Faith.

“Squirt it in
Lacy’s
hands, please.” Annette shot her a glance and did as she asked. “Now, Lacy, rub it into your hands like you’re trying to set them on fire.” Lacy scrubbed for a few minutes and looked up at Faith. “Now rub your hands in the dirt and rub ’
em
together again.” Faith shrugged when Annette looked at her like she was crazy. “It’s a softball thing.”

Faith showed Lacy how to hold the bat. “Now chomp your gum because that makes you look tough. Keep your eye on the ball and smack the laces off of it.”

“Tennis balls don’t have laces,” Lacy said as she looked up at Faith.

“You get the concept, though. Smack the fuzz off of it.”

Lacy’s
first swing was halfhearted. “I’m not good at this.”

“You can be.” Faith got behind her and held the bat. “Pitcher, throw us a few practice balls, please.”

Rachel was halfway between the mound and home plate. She gently tossed the ball, and Lacy thwacked it with Faith’s assistance.

“Didn’t that feel good?” Faith asked.

“Uh-huh. Can we do another one?”

“Sure,” Faith said excitedly. There were few things she loved more than softball. “You wanna try it on your own now?”

“Uh-huh.” Lacy drew back the bat with gusto and nailed Faith in the stomach. She went down like a sack of rocks.

“You couldn’t have swung like that before?” She grunted as she wallowed in the dirt.

“You okay?” Rachel asked as she jogged up.

“Did I wet myself?” Faith asked between gritted teeth.

“Nope, high and dry. Want me to take over here?”

“I got it.” Faith rolled onto her knees and slowly rose to her feet.

Rachel patted Lacy on the head. “Good swing, baby, you knocked that one out of the park.”

“Okay, you little…slugger,” Faith said with what she hoped was a smile. “This time, make sure no one is behind you when you wind up.”

Lacy managed to get a piece of the ball after twenty swings and the next batter came to the plate. “Kaycee Chauvin, I know you’re your mother’s child, do not hit me with that bat,” Faith said, holding her stomach. “You know how to hit?”

Kaycee nodded and grinned as Rachel said, “Of course she does, she’s my baby.”

She put the ball across the plate, and Kaycee nailed it, a perfect line drive that caught Rachel right in the forehead. “Sorry, Momma,” Kaycee said as she ran to first base. Only after her feet hit the bag did she run over to make sure that Rachel still had both of her eyes.

“It’s all fun and games until someone gets their hood dented, isn’t it?” Faith said with an ear-to-ear grin.